Organic Soil and Composting

ORGANIC SOIL

Whether you garden in traditional tilled garden beds, raised
planting beds, or in containers, soil is the most important part of your
garden. Good, healthy, organic soil is the key to robust plant growth and
bountiful production. We carry everything you need to create an ideal growing
environment for your organic garden. Here are some help planning and
preparation tips for preparing your soil.

** Organic Soils and Planting Mixes - We maintain a large
stock of potting and garden planting mixes for all organic growing. Our potting
soil is our top selling product, and is ideal for creating raised garden beds
and container gardening. For even more control of soil nutrients, choose one of
our specialty potting soils for specific uses. You will find a complete stock
of potting soils in our retail store and our online store.

** Build Your Own Soil - We have a wide selection of organic
soil additives and amendments to help you create an ideal soil mixture of your
own or to correct soil deficiencies in your garden beds. From our Premium
Organic Soil Amendments to Vermiculite and Perlite to loosen heavy soils, you
will find the exact products you need for your particular situation at our
retail store and online store.

** Test Your Soil - We carry a complete line of soil testing
products to help you manage your soils chemistry and provide the very best
environment for your organic gardening. Our easy to use kits allow you to test
the pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium content in your soil. We offer the
tools you need to keep your garden at its peak performance.

** Specialty Soil Products - One size doesn't fit all when it
comes to organic soil, that's why we offer a wide range of special soil
products to suit special needs. From special planting mixtures of
commercial-grade blend of fir bark, Canadian Sphagnum peat moss, perlite,
pumice and lime for orchid growers, to additives and amendments to suit
specific situations.

ORGANIC COMPOSTING

Composting, often described as natures way
of recycling, is the biological process of breaking up of the organic
waste such as food waste, manure, leaves, grass trimmings, paper, worms, and
coffee grounds, etc., into an extremely useful humus-like substance by various
micro-organisms including bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes in the presence of
oxygen. Composting is most often a natural process that continuously occurs in
nature, often without any assistance from mankind.

Both living plants and annual plants that die at the end of
the season are consumed by animals of all sizes, from larger mammals, birds,
and rodents to worms, insects, and microscopic organisms. The result of this
natural cycle is compost, a combination of digested and undigested food that is
left on the forest floor to create rich, usually soft, sweet-smelling soil.

** Aerobic Composting - This means to compost with air. High
nitrogen waste (like grass clippings or other green material) will grow
bacteria that will create high temperatures (up to 160 degrees). Organic waste
will break down quickly and is not prone to smell. This type of composting is
high maintenance, since it will need to be turned every couple of days to keep
the air in the system and your temperatures up. It is also likely to require
accurate moisture monitoring. This type of compost is good for large volumes of
compost.

** Anaerobic Composting - This is composting without air.
Anaerobic composting is low maintenance, since you simply throw it in a pile
and wait a couple of years. If you just stack your debris in a pile, it will
generally compact to the point where there is no available air for beneficial
organisms to live. Instead, you will get a very slow working bacteria growing
that does not require air. Your compost may take years to break down (this is
what happens when you throw your food waste in the garbage that goes to the landfill).
Anaerobic composts create the awful smell most people associate with
composting. The bacteria break down the organic materials into harmful
compounds, like ammonia and methane.

** Vermicomposting - This is most beneficial for composting
food waste. Along with red worms, this includes composting with bacteria,
fungi, insects, and other bugs. Some of these guests break down the organic
materials for the others to eat. Red worms eat the bacteria, fungi, and the
food waste, and then deposit their castings. Oxygen and moisture are required
to keep this compost healthy. This is called medium maintenance compost, since
you need to feed your red worms and monitor the conditions. Organic
composting can be done on many different levels. Since composting does not take
any work, and this is what you elect to do for your organic garden, we always
suggest you compost everything. However, if composting is not for you, we have
all of the organic soils and nutrients you will need to help your garden
thrive.